Referee:
Howard Webb - third Toon game of the season, following on
from the 0-3 home loss to Manchester United and 1-2 defeat at Stoke City. Webb's only previous appointment for this fixture came during May 2005,
when he presided over a 1-1 draw.

While much attention was directed at the first half Ba / Coloccini incident
and the Ramires lunge on Gutierrez gained some column inches, perhaps the
most archetypal Webb fudge came when Papiss Cisse and Ashley Cole
clashed on the far touchline with the score at 1-1.

Quite what initiated the exchange is unclear, but a furious Cisse was
caught on camera with his hand cupping Cole's chin - and a linesman in
close proximity. Webb's response was to merely issue yellow cards to both
parties; a relief to us but a leniency that not all of his colleagues
would have emulated.

Attendance:
52,314.
Second highest of the season after the opening day game against Spurs,
which drew 52,385.

Flags, berets and strings of real (or plastic) onions were the order of the day,
while the away fans looked to appreciate a touchline set-to between
the two managers that prompted a mass rendition of "fat
Spanish waiter"
(number of anti-Rafa banners in Chelsea end = 2)

At least one cloth-eared correspondent
in the press box however reported that fans were singing the ditty to
the tune of Spandau Ballet's "Gold". To cut a long
story short, they weren't....

Goals

41 mins
Progressing down the United left, Davide Santon checked inside
and sent over a flat cross that Jonas Gutierrez converted with a glancing
header beyond Cech - a momentary lull as the ball looked to be heading wide
giving way to an ear-piercing roar as it nestled inside the far post.

The goalscorer meanwhile headed towards the celebrating Strawberry Corner,
seemingly in the grip of a demonic possession and barking unintelligibly at the
moon. He later confirmed that he'd been thanking his dead Grandmother for her
divine intervention...1-0

Half
time: Newcastle 1 Chelsea 0

55 mins There looked to be little danger when a Chelsea throw level on the left level
with our box was funneled back by Mata. However Frank Lampard picked up
possession and with Yohan Cabaye and Yoan Gouffran both hanging back arrowed
home an unstoppable drive
1-1

61 mins Ivanovic found space
down the Chelsea right and delivered a low centre. A deflection off Gouffran's boot was enough to divert the
ball away from Coloccini in his own area, dropping instead for Torres to
lay it into the path of Juan Mata. The Spaniard artfully curled it home
1-2

68 mins A smooth counter attacking move begun by Gutierrez and helped on by Cisse
saw Gouffran pelt forward over halfway and bear down on goal. Outpacing Oscar and getting his shot off before Gary Cahill arrived with an
attempted block tackle, Cech parried that but succeeded only in teeing up Moussa
Sissoko to side-foot home from 12 yards at the Leazes End 2-2

90 mins The
move that led to our winner was initiated by Santon in his own half, striding forward
to find
Cabaye infield and crucially continuing his unmarked run down the touchline. Moussa
Sissoko then took Cabaye's short pass and returned the ball to Santon, who by
now was towards the left side of the Chelsea box and able to elude the
lumbering Ivanovic before feeding it into the path of Sissoko to drill home his
second of the game with a
low shot from the edge of the area 3-2

Full time: Newcastle 3 Chelsea 2

We
Said

Alan Pardew said:

"The whole team was magnificent but it would be silly
to ignore the fact that Sissoko announced his presence in the game, not just
with his technical quality but his power. It's been something that's been
missing from the team.

"We accelerated (his signing) because he was going to come in
summer and he's paid us back handsomely. I don't need to say anything about
him because his performance said it all. We watched him and looked at him
for a long time and we'd set our sights on him early, which is a good thing.

"It was undoubtedly the game of the season. I don't think we're going
to better that between now and the end. It was a fabulous game. It's a
massive win for us today.

"When you're against a top side it's important to put them off their
stride and show no fear and put them under pressure and we did that really
well in the first half. Perhaps we should have scored earlier, from Papiss, (Cisse)
but we got the goal.

"We had an intelligence about us today - you see the injection a lift
can give. The injection of players, the injection of a win. Suddenly you
look at us and we can climb the league but this was an important victory.

"We are going to cherish it because we have had some really rough days.
It was an unbelievable game. Truly, I can't remember seeing a game as good
as that.

"We suffered two unbelievable goals against us to find ourselves behind
in the game but we weren't to be denied and it was a fantastic end to the
game.

"Teams do move on. This team's had Andy Cole and Alan Shearer, blimey
it's difficult to move on from players of that sort of quality. Demba (Ba)
came and did a great job for us but he's moved on and new stars
emerge.

Asked about the atmosphere:"It was unbelievable - thatís what weíve got. Dembaís going
to miss it at Chelsea, trust me. Iíve been at some big clubs where you donít
get an atmosphere like that, big, big clubs.

"Even at Manchester United - you can go to three quarters of their home games
and you donít get an atmosphere like that. Itís unbelievable when itís
like that.

"Itís our duty to get ourselves in that position. We did that. It was a really outstanding performance.Ē

Asked if he had seen a better home debut:

"Not since I have been here. (Papiss) Cisse made an instant
impact when he arrived, but our fans, who are an intelligent set of fans -
these people love their football here.

"They told me last time that they didn't like me, that my subs were all
wrong - and they were probably right - but they know a good player when they
see one. He didn't just give us the goals, he gave us a lot more than that.

"I remember seeing him at Toulouse about 14-16 months ago and there are
only two players that I have seen that I was desperate to get here. One was
Cabaye and one was Sissoko, and we have managed to do that."

On translator Jean-Paul Ndoumin,
who ended up celebrating on the field at full time:

"When we ran through points I needed to make (in the team talk) he was really
good. I think he's better than me; maybe I should retire. Afterwards he asked: 'Do you want me to do the post-match interviews?' and I said: 'No, that's my job.'

"I did actually ask the French boys if he was taking the piss at times because I saw a couple of them laughing at his translations. I don't know if he's expressing a bit more than what I'm saying but it seems to be working. We like him."

They
Said

Rafa Benitez
commented:

"Win, lose or draw I like to analyse games. It doesnít matter. I
always try to do my best and be ready for the next one. I pay ≠attention to
every single detail I can. We were winning 2-1 and then allowed them to play
counter-attacking football four or five times. We have experienced players but
didnít do well.

"I was really pleased with the reaction
of the players when we went one down, and the second half ≠performance, but we
have to manage it in a better way and show better experience. Demba Ba has
broken his nose. We have to wait, but we will see the specialist and he will
decide.

"He could not carry on. It was a penalty and it should have been a red
card. A penalty and red card, very simple.Ē

Goalkeeper Petr Cech added:

ďI have never heard noise like it in my
life when Newcastle scored, this place is unbelievable.Ē

Stats

Newcastle registered three goals against Chelsea in a
Premier League game for the first time in 29 attempts, since a 3-1 home
win over Gianluca Viali's side in May 1998.

Moussa Sissoko became
the 106th Newcastle player to score in the Premier League for the club
and the first Magpie to net more than once on his home debut since Patrick
Kluivert (vs Hapoel Bnei Sakhnin in Sept 2004). The last player to achieve
that in the Premier League was Duncan Ferguson (vs Wimbledon in Nov
1998).

Jonas Gutierrez scored his first goal of the season and eleventh for the
club in all competitions. In doing so, he ended a 33 match barren run going
back to February 2012 (at home to Wolves). This was his first headed effort.
Tim Krul completed a century of senior appearances in a Newcastle shirt,
having made 97 starts and three sub appearances in all competitions since a
memorable debut at Palermo in a UEFA Cup tie during November 2006.

This was the first time we have come from behind to win a Premier League
game since October 2010, when goals from Kevin Nolan and Andy Carroll
cancelled out Carlton Cole's opener for West Ham at Upton Park.

A 2-1 victory over Sheffield United in April 2010 was the last occasion
that home fans saw a comeback at SJP in a league game, with Peter Lovenkrands
and Nolan again replying to a Richard Cresswell effort on the night we secured
promotion from the Championship.

And in terms of an SJP comeback in the Premier League, finding ourselves 0-1
down in just three minutes to the smoggies in May 2009 inspired us to a
3-1 victory, with Steven Taylor, Obafemi Martins and Peter Lovenkrands netting
to spare OG scorer Habib Beye's blushes.

Steven Taylor ended the game wearing a different shirt after he bled on
his original one and was requested to change it. Rather than his usual 27 squad
number, the replacement one was nameless and numbered 46.
Blues @ SJP - Premier League era:

From every quarter the refrain was the same: for
the first time in a long time, Saturday evening's edition of "Match of
the Day" would be watched and enjoyed, as opposed to being endured or
just deleted straight away. For once, we didn't have to look away now.

The reason for that sea change in Tyneside viewing habits was the unprecedented
afternoon of entertainment and endeavour served up by United's
not-so-local heroes for 50,000 of the faithful, who had bought tickets before
our spending spree. Their fortitude was to be richly rewarded.

If Tuesday's hard-fought Villa victory was the aperitif then was a full-blown feast, lapped
up by fans who had continued to attend despite a diet of scraps for much of this
season, finally losing patience at the meek surrender to Reading. No lack of
feeling, no absence of support, just frustration at the continuing malfunction
of their team and a lack of action in rectifying what was patently misfiring.

The contrast between those Blues and Royals visits was so vast as to be almost
unimaginable: to trigger this sort of turnaround between successive
home games usually takes the departure of a manager, ie Gullit's mackem monsoon
loss followed by Sir Bobby's 8-0 baptism.

Even the bare facts were remarkable enough; United
holding a half-time lead against the reigning European champions and then recovering from going 1-2 behind to score twice in the last
25 minutes - the deserved winner arriving in the last minute of normal time.

Those stats fail to convey the sheer unadulterated joy - and relief - of a
simply remarkable afternoon of football though. An even more jubilant full time
celebration than at Villa Park ended up in a partial lap of honour by overjoyed
Newcastle players old and new; such over the top scenes curiously appropriate,
given our outrageous reversal of fortune in a fortnight.

Having opened the scoring in all but one of our four previous home wins this
season, Demba Ba was 11/10 to find the net on his first return to Gallowgate.
However it was his former strike partner / rival Papiss Cisse
who initially came closest, twice testing Petr Cech from close range.

Ba's first meaningful opportunity appeared just after the half hour mark when
he outpaced Fabricio Coloccini and shot from inside the box, only for Tim Krul
to parry his effort. Attempting to head in the rebound
though, Colo's boot caught Ba full in the face, breaking the striker's nose and
leaving face down on the turf and beating it in agony. He certainly wasn't
giving thanks on this occasion...

The striker returned following treatment on the sidelines (during which time
the match restarted and a further injury to a Chelsea player saw the United
physio treat him). However Ba soon made way for Fernando Torres to a mixture of boos and
applause before the game restarted after our opener.

Rafa Benitez later sought to portray this incident as a game-changer,
asserting that Colo should have been red-carded and Chelsea awarded a penalty. However those punishments are only applicable should the referee decide that
the Newcastle player commits a foul.

Replays clearly show that Colo is concentrating on the ball and doesn't intend
to cause injury to Ba. He would need eyes in the back of his head to have seen
him. Meanwhile, a blatant two-footed assault by Ramires on Jonas just moments
earlier was violent, but warranted only a yellow.

This fixture has a recent history of non-decisions; Mike Dean inexplicably failing to dismiss David
Luiz for felling Demba Ba on the edge of the Blues box here last season. Our visit to Stamford Bridge
in May 2012 meanwhile saw Cheick Tiote stretchered
off after an elbow from Jon Obi Mikel that divided opinion over whether it was
accidental or not. Mark Halsey deemed that not to be a foul.

Having grabbed the advantage before the interval and with thoughts of our
midweek struggles still fresh, the second half was as testing as expected, United again caught cold soon after the
restart and conceding two word-class strikes after allowing their opponents a
glimpse of the target.

At that point, reality seemed to have bitten and after their little upturn, the
black and whites had reverted to disappointing type. Hang on though, we're not
finished yet - these lot are still running, probing, trying - and pushing
Chelsea back.

In retrospect the quickness of our equaliser was key - not only in providing
renewed encouragement to team and fans, but in also deterring the manager from
making any substitutions at that point. For whatever reason, the side that Pardew
set up
and sent out was allowed to atone for its own slackness - and proceeded to dig
themselves out of trouble in genuinely heartening style.

Sissoko's first goal was then followed by two further runs from our new number
7 that brought the crowd to their feet. One
energetic burst down the right saw Cole left trailing in his wake and Cech
diving to tip away a fierce shot beyond the far post. The other meanwhile
involved him weaving into the box and bamboozling Cahill before trying a right footed toe poke that
crucially lacked power.

That was merely the warm-up though to the winner though, greeted with scenes
glimpsed only at times of extreme emotion such as Tiote's equaliser against
Arsenal. There was still time for
Lampard to lead appeals for a penalty in added time as
Steven Taylor threw himself in the way of a shot but
referee Howard Webb
ignored him and blew to trigger further wild celebrations on and off the pitch.

A real red letter day then, but at this point perhaps the most pivotal
moment came two weeks earlier, when the owner saw his side take a fragile lead
against Reading before leaving well before full time. Hearing later about Le Fondre's decisive
double seems to have spurred him into action.

Had we held out for the win that day, it's debatable what level of investment
would have followed. The temptation to just see it through with just Debuchy
added to the mix (plus whoever ended up as the Ba replacement once the Remy
deal died) might well have been over-riding. As it is, we've
boosted the squad for a second successive January, following 2012's capture of
Papiss Cisse.

It's early days, but the interchangeability of Cisse, Gouffran and
Sissoko was eye-catching and it promises to be interesting to see what the
returning Hatem Ben Arfa adds to the mix - in addition to testing the manager's
mettle in terms of dealing with the increased personnel choices and keeping
players outside the first XI happy; two problems he's not had this
season. Whether those recent investments meet with the approval of Ben Arfa
remains to been however.

So, goodbye Xisco, hello Sissoko; the Frenchman achieving more in two games
than the Spaniard managed in four and a half years and for a fraction of
the price. We may still be reliant on the youth setups of other clubs, but at
least our transfer policy has become less potty in recent seasons.

The cynic in us wonders though that the immediate impact of Sissoko brings
nearer the day when the "too good to turn down" offer arrives. The Cheick Tiote
situation is worthy of note, in that the optimum time to sell him for a maximum return
passed with no deal done. Suitors then got wise to his various
"drawbacks" and the Ivorian's desirability - and market value -
diminished. We remain a selling club, we need to trade - that's what the
mission statement says.

Part of Pardew's recent patter has been to stress that his new arrivals aren't
a footballing version of international rescue, but equally designed to inspire
or frighten those already in situ out of their comfort zone.

And in that regard, the resurgence of Gutierrez in this game was more than
welcome. God knows what's been wrong with him recently but he's simply not been
worth a place in the side. Today though he was somehow reinvigorated, showing
glimpses of his old form before grabbing the goal.

Add in the timely return of Steven Taylor and only the continued defensive
waywardness of Davide Santon is causing us heartache - there's nowt wrong with
his assists, but marking and tracking opponents is a more haphazard element of
his game that doesn't go unnoticed by opponents.

Much more of this and we could yet have the luxury of a tilt at the almost forgotten
Europa League, rather than replicating the demoralising embarrassment of
Brighton in Kharkiv.

Our first back to back league wins since April took us six points clear
of the third-bottom side and an unlikely win at Spurs could propel us into the top
half of the table, albeit briefly. However, we remain fifteen points and nine
places worse off than at the same point last season. That ain't
great.

A fabulous week then, with six points added to our meagre total
and just as importantly, renewed faith and optimism that we're alive and
kicking, not sliding back into the ooze as was the case back in 2009. Having
the same manager also has to help, whether you like the bloke or not.

To believe that everything's now fine though would be a cardinal sin akin to
the latter stages of that awful season, when beating Boro in our penultimate
home game led to an apparent club-wide complacency that just turning up the
following Saturday against Fulham would be sufficient.